


my way home is through you

by midnightjuly (roadmarks)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-11
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 22:40:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1178805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roadmarks/pseuds/midnightjuly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erica's been off the grid for three years when Scott pings her with a rescue mission.</p>
            </blockquote>





	my way home is through you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ocathalain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ocathalain/gifts).



> This borrows from canon in a lot of places, but is wildly divergent in others (everybody lives! also, spaceships!). I hope you like it, ocathalain! I love AUs, so getting matched with you was awesome.

Erica's been flying solo for awhile now. It's a lot of work, but the Arcadia's a small ship with decent autopilot, so it could be worse. Especially with the whole thing where she had to fake her own death, that's been kind of a bummer but again, could be worse. So flying solo it is, putting enough distance between her and Beacon Hills that she'll be forgotten.

The distress call from Scott comes as something of a surprise. He wasn't her alpha, hadn't even been part of her pack (though not for Derek's lack of trying), and she hadn't even realized he knew she was still alive and kicking. Probably Stiles figured it out, the little fucker. “Hey, McCall,” she says. “Long time no see.”

“Good to hear your voice,” he says, wisely not using her name over the waves. “Stiles says hi, by the way.”

“How is he? How's everyone?”

“Stiles is fine. Everyone's –” He breaks off and sighs. “Good, mostly.”

“ _Scott_.”

“It's, um. I can't really talk about it, but there's a problem. Derek got a lock on your location, and you're way closer than we are. I can send you the coordinates.”

“Scott.”

“You're going to have to trust me on this.” Erica meets him with dead silence, and he sighs again. “It's a rescue mission. Lydia picked up the distress call last night. We're on our way, but we could use a scout. And, uh. It's the Alpha Pack. What's left of them, anyway. They've got Boyd and Cora.”

Erica's hands are cold, which is strange, because it feels like her blood is boiling. “Yeah. Yeah, I can take care of that. Send me the coordinates.”

“We just need to make sure they don't get away before we get there. You can't let them see you. Not until we're there, at least.”

“How far out are you?” she asks.

“Six, maybe seven days out.”

“That's not a lot of time.”

“Er --” he cuts himself off. “ _Listen_. You know what they're capable of.”

“Yeah, you're right, I do know. Better than anyone, except maybe Boyd and Cora. Who they've got now. _Again_. Send me those coordinates, Scott.”

There's a long silence, and then the coordinates are flashing across her console. She's maybe twelve hours out. “I can make it in three days,” she says; if there are any curious ears eavesdropping on the conversation, she's buying herself a little time. “Hurry it up a little and you might actually get to be part of the fight.”

“ _Please_ don't get yourself killed,” Scott says, and she smiles grimly, even though he can't see it.

“I'll do my best, okay? But if things look bad, I can't make any promises.”

“Take care, okay? Be careful.”

“Scott,” she says. “I'm always careful.”

He snorts. “See you in a week. Radio us if you need anything.”

“Sure thing. And Scott?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

*

Irinia's a port town on the dark side of Epsilon Six. It's a popular spot with smugglers looking to unload goods in a hurry, since the freezing climate and entire months of darkness keep it relatively safe from law enforcement. It's also a popular destination for wolves looking for a cheap high; the long nights are blessed with five moons, meaning there's a pretty great chance of at least one full moon at any given time, sometimes more. She's not surprised the Alphas would have taken them there.

On the plus side, she thinks as she docks the Arcadia, no one's going to notice one more wolf in town. 

Not unless she wants them to, anyway.

Stealth's never been her style, so she puts on her best swagger and walks into the first bar she sees. She doesn't see any familiar faces, doesn't even pick up any familiar scents, so she takes a seat at the bar and waits. Within a minute's time, the bartender's sliding a drink her way, nodding at a guy sitting further down. “From the gentleman over there,” he says, and she slides her eyes down. Human, cute enough but a little jumpy, everything about him screaming _easy prey_. She grins, and raises her glass. A few moments later, he's scrambling to take the seat next to her. 

“Thanks for the drink,” she says. “I'm Maria.”

“Evan Marshall,” he says. “Haven't seen you around before.”

“No? I'm always around here. Business, you know.”

“I'd remember you,” he insists, and she smiles.

“You're from here in town?”

“Born and raised,” he says, which is a little impressive if it's true – humans usually don't last long in Irinia, ending up either turned or dead in a matter of months. “I run a shipping company. Family business, you know how it is.”

That explains it, then. Squirrelly human or not, nobody's going to cross the guy who controls their shipments. “ _Really_ ,” she says. “Are you the contact Kali mentioned? She didn't mention you were so _handsome_.”

He laughs nervously. “Dark hair, pretty face, feet like something out of a nightmare? Yeah, we go way back. You're working with her crowd? I didn't see you with them at the warehouse.”

“Let's just say I wasn't looking to advance any further in the ranks,” she says with a wry smile, letting her eyes flash golden. He laughs, high-pitched and nervous, and licks his lips. “I'm a pilot. Freelance stuff, you know. Kind of in the shipping business myself, I guess. I was just doing a drop-off to Kali while she's in town.” 

“Good stuff. So you're not in Irinia long?”

“Job's over,” Erica says, shrugging. “Hey, have you got any cargo that needs moving? I'm heading back towards Lamda Twelve for a pickup in a few days. It's nothing urgent, I could make a few stops along the way.”

“Sure, sure, there's a few things. You want to go talk about it in private?”

The guy's practically drooling, and Erica wants nothing more than to roll her eyes. “I'd love to,” she says instead, downing the last of her drink and standing.

*

It's a little too easy, really – shipping magnate or no, he's too easily swayed by a pretty smile and a bare-bones cover story to be the seasoned vet of Irinia he seems to think he is. She leaves him out cold in an alley after she grabs his security pass for the docks; finishing the job might be safer, but she's not _totally_ heartless. Besides, if he's got any sense at all he's not going to talk. There's more money in closed lips than open ones, especially when spilling secrets means admitting someone else got the better of you.

She heads back to the Arcadia, careful to make sure she wasn't followed. She's got the security pass, and thanks to Marshall, she knows the Alphas have been using the warehouse, which makes a good place to start looking. Still, she's got to work out a plan; she can't go into this blind. Not against a couple of alphas – even if it's just Kali and Ennis these days, if the rumors are true. Especially not against the ones who nearly killed her three years ago, the reason she's been on the run this whole time.

It's not completely hopeless, though. They've probably got Boyd and Cora drugged, or starved, or incapacitated in some way ( _if they're not dead_ , her traitorous mind supplies, but she shrugs that off – three years is a long time, but pack as pack, and she'd be able to feel it, she's sure of it) but if she can get them free, the three of them might stand a decent shot of getting out alive.

Or she could wait for Scott's pack. But the more she thinks about it, the less she likes the idea. There are only two ways she can see this playing out – the first is that Kali and Ennis kidnapped Boyd and Cora for revenge, and they're going to move before they get there. Maybe even leaving fresh bodies for them to find, and her stomach wrenches at the thought. But that's more Deucalion's style than theirs, and he hasn't been in the picture for a long time. The more likely scenario, she thinks, is that it's a trap, and that too could end with their hostages being killed long before they get there.

 _So I'm the best chance at everyone surviving this_ , she thinks, shaking her head and lying down in her bunk. _God._

*

She sleeps for awhile; between the flight and the whole committing assault-and-battery thing, it's been a long day, and she's not going to be able to help anyone when she's sleep-deprived. She wakes up with a shout, her dreams already slipping away, which is for the better; she's pretty sure they were the same ones she always has, the ones from back in Beacon Hills, and not one of the nice ones. 

_The nice ones_. She focuses on those hazy memories until she's calm again. Even after all this time, it's pack that centers her. All of Derek's talk about finding an anchor had never really clicked until long after she'd skipped town, and all she could think about was everyone she'd left behind, her family and her friends and her pack and _Boyd_ , god, is it even going to be the same between them when she finds him?

Still, though. Deucalion's out of the picture, Aiden and Ethan are – if what she's heard is true – betas in Scott's pack now, and if they can get Ennis and Kali out of the way, that's it, they're home free. She could go home again. Even if Boyd doesn't feel the same way after all this time – or, hell, if _she_ doesn't – she could get her pack, her home, her _life_ back. It's a dizzying thought, and she puts it aside. She's getting ahead of herself, and there's no point in thinking about the future before she makes sure there's going to be one.

*

Erica holds her breath when she swipes the card, but no alarms sound, and it just flashes green, allowing her entry to the shipping sector of the docks. She's dressed in the old, grease-stained coveralls she uses when she's doing repairs on board her ship, and her hair's tucked up under a cap – it's not the best disguise, but it's all she can do considering she's only got a limited amount of time. 

She spots Ennis on the docks, talking to a guy pushing a dolly loaded with crates, and she ducks out of the way, listening in. “We need to be ready to ship out tomorrow,” he's saying to the guy, and she bites her lip. They're leaving after all, then. Which means there's no time. She's got absolutely no advantage, except _maybe_ the element of surprise, which doesn't amount to much against two highly-capable alphas. 

_Although_. She looks down at the keycard hanging around her neck. She might have an advantage after all.

Finding Marshall's office is easy enough, and he's off work today – “with a bad headache,” she overhears an employee say. _I'll bet_ , she thinks ducking her head so that no one sees her smirk. She needn't have bothered; if there's one thing she's learned while trying to keep a low profile, it's that no one pays any attention to you if you're carrying a toolbox. The keycard grants her access to the office, and she shuts the door behind her, sliding a desk in front of it for good measure. 

Just as she'd suspected, he's got files on all his clients. Kali's is particularly long, and something in particular catches her eye.

Advantage: Erica Reyes. This is going to be easy as pie.

*

It's a triple full moon tonight, a rarity even on Epsilon Six, and Erica feels it coursing through her veins as she heads to the warehouse. She's in her own clothes now, her hair free; she's done hiding, for tonight and for every night after. She doesn't bother trying the passcard on the door, just kicks it open. “Knock knock,” she says, smiling prettily at the surprised wolves inside. 

It's Kali and Ennis, no surprises there, and a few betas they've picked up from somewhere. No other alphas – she wonders if they've finally decided the competition wasn't worth it. Boyd and Cora aren't in the room, but she can sense them, and it's reassuring. Ennis snarls at her, but Kali just laughs. “Somehow I didn't think _you_ were going to be the prey our trap snared. Didn't we kill you?”

Erica looks at her nails, looking bored. “Can we spare the banter and the villainous monologues? I'm exhausted, to be honest. I spent all day looking through Evan Marshall's computer, and I'm really not great with tech stuff. Don't get me wrong, I can get by just fine with an engine, but databases aren't really my thing, and it was real tiring. You know he's got files on all his clients? And the things he had on the two of you...”

“Enough of this,” Kali says, and two of the betas move to grab Erica. She lets them, and her grin widens. 

“See,” she continues. “I'm a little out of the loop, you know. I've been on the run from you two for so long that I didn't realize you were hiding, too. And Marshall's files say there's been someone around asking questions about you, Kali. Something Blake, I think? Jessica, maybe?”

“ _Jennifer_ ,” Kali says, and there's a moment of terror on her face.

“Gosh, you're right. I hope I didn't use the wrong name when I pinged her. _That_ would be embarrassing.”

“She's bluffing,” Ennis says, and Erica rolls her eyes.

“You can hear that I'm not,” she says, her heartbeat calm and steady. “I sent it about two hours ago. If you're lucky, you can still get out of here before she gets here.”

“Oh, we will,” Kali says. “After we deal with you and your friends.”

“Really? Because I think you're going to have a hard time without me. You've got some pretty lax security on your ship, I have to say. They'll just give any pretty face free reign if she flashes a socket wrench and says she's there to fix a sealant leak. They didn't even bother to check to make sure I didn't have, say, a tracking device in my toolbox. One that Jennifer now has a lock on. You kill us, you're never going to be able to run far enough.”

“You idiot,” Kali hisses. “You absolute _idiot_ , do you even know who she is? She nearly ripped that little pack of yours in two. And let me tell you, she doesn't like unfinished business. Once she's done with us, she'll head straight for you.”

“Well then,” Erica says. “You'd better keep her running for as long as you can, I guess.” She shifts out of the grasp of the two betas, who move to grab her again. Kali shakes her head at them, and Erica grins. “Go on, start running. Leave my packmates with me and I'll ping you with the exact location of the tracking device once we're safe.”

"Or we could kill you and take your ship," Kali points out.

"And abandon all those goodies you've been loading onto yours all day? I mean, I don't know what's in there, but I saw the money Ennis was throwing around just to get it loaded on board. You want to leave it behind, sure."

It's a gamble, and she knows it. “This isn't over,” Kali finally says, and Erica rolls her eyes, even as she's mentally sighing with relief.

“Yeah, actually. It is. You don't get it, do you? You tried to kill me, I came back. You went after Scott's pack and two of yours decided to switch sides. You lost Deucalion. You tried to get back at them, and hey, you're about to start running again.” She strides closer, her eyes flashing. Kali's and Ennis' both go red in response, but she's not scared. Not anymore. “This ends _now_. You two go and consider yourselves lucky. And stay the _hell_ away from Beacon Hills.”

*

Boyd and Cora aren't looking good. She's pretty sure they'll be okay, but she's just got a basic med-kit on board, nothing special, and Cora's looking especially bad. Boyd helps Erica move her, but once she's in a bunk, he nearly falls. Erica steadies him, maneuvering him into the other bunk. “Give me a second,” she says, and then she's setting a course for Beacon Hills.

She pings Scott. “I've got Boyd and Cora. They're alive, but they're not in great shape. I'm bringing them home.”

“The alphas?” he asks, and she rolls her eyes.

“They're lucky _I_ don't want to be an alpha, or they wouldn't be more than a bloodstain on the floor. But I don't think they're going to be a problem again, at least for a little while. I'll fill you in when we're back.”

“We're about two days away,” Scott says. “How about we meet you tomorrow and we travel back together? We've got a full medical wing.”

“Sounds good. I'll make sure they're fine until then.”

*

Cora's out cold by the time she's back to them, and Boyd's leaned against the wall. She hands him a bottle of water and he starts gulping it. “Slow,” she says, and he coughs. “Told you.”

“Shut up,” he says, and she laughs, glad to hear his voice for the first time in years, even if it's raspy and hoarse. “They kept us with no water for days, then put some in front of us, laced with mountain ash. We didn't know until after Cora drank it.”

“Bastards,” she says, tearing through her med-kit. “How long ago was it? I don't think I have anything for it –”

“Two days ago. It was bad at first, but she's getting better. I don't think it was a lethal dose.” He finishes the bottle and wipes his mouth.

Erica nods and leans against the wall, closing her eyes. She did it, she's the big damn hero, but Cora's half-dead on the cot and Boyd doesn't look far behind, and it's been a hell of a day; she doesn't realize she's shaking until Boyd's reaching out to grab her hand. “Hey,” he says, and she opens her eyes. “Thanks for saving us.”

“Anytime,” she says, squeezing his hand, and he pulls her in until she's sitting next to him on the cot, his arm around her. 

“God, I missed you,” he says, and she laughs.

“Same here.” She feels his lips press against her hair, and she shuts her eyes again. There's a lot to do – if what Boyd said was true, they're going to need to get some real water into Cora, and food for them both, and she's still got to ping Kali and Ennis with the location of the tracker (not that they're being followed, god, do they really think she's stupid enough to deal with _Jennifer Blake_ , of all people?), but for now she lets herself lean against Boyd, enjoying the moment for what it is.

She's not home yet, not quite. But she's on her way.


End file.
